Stasia sparkling

My granddaughter Stasia spent the weekend with us and she was absolutely devastated by Max's passing, since, for all of her five and a half years, a good many of which have been spent with us, she has never known a time without that "fat cat"—her constant companion. We spent much of the day at Max's graveside, which she constantly found new items for placing there, and there were, of course, the constant unanswerable questions, the most heartbreaking of which was, "Why did Max want to leave?" I could only hope—pray, really—that my feeble attempts at answers helped her cope with her first experience with the death of a loved one, a deeply loved one. But Stasia is, thankfully, resilient, so when we later went up to visit "Auntie"—my daughter—and her family, all of whom adore this little sprite, she rallied some, especially when the sparklers came out. I'm hoping they helped restore at least a temporary sparkle to her spirit, and whenever she sadly told me that "I miss Max"—I always agreed with her—she might eventually come to find a measure of comfort in the wonderful memories of the time that splendid black-and-white feline was a genuine part of our lives.